Algeria: On Sunday, October 15, 2017, the Criminal Court of Oran sentenced, in absentia, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, alias Belaouar, to death. Mokhtar, leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda and Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has been convicted of creating and managing terrorist organizations, stealing and holding weapons, and trafficking. Additionally, officials believe that he was planning to kidnap foreign nationals.

Iran: On Thursday, October 12, 2017, a man, identified by initials only, was executed by hanging at Kerman Prison. He was convicted of Moharebeh for blocking the road, kidnapping Afghans, and extorting them. Moharebeh, which means waging war against God and/or spreading corruption on earth, is a comprehensive term that covers a large number of offenses.

On Saturday, October 14, 2017, Hamidreza Khoshbakht was executed by hanging at Rasht Central Prison. He was executed for a murder committed in 2013, when he was 20 years of age.

Pakistan: The Lahore High Court has acquitted Muhammad Hussain, Ahmad Din, Munir Ahmad, Rehmat Ali, Sarja, and Soja, of their death sentences. All six individuals had been convicted of a triple murder. They were acquitted due to major discrepancies in testimony from witnesses and medical reports. In addition, there was a significant lack of evidence in the case and the prosecution failed to prove their case.

Nazeer Ahmed has been sentenced to death for the murder of his niece, Najma Bibi. Ahmed murdered Bibi after the two had a dispute. Ahmed has also been fined and given prison sentence.

United States of America:On Wednesday, October 18, 2017, Anthony Allen Shore was scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas. Anthony has been convicted of murdering 9-year-old Diana Rebollar, 15-year-old Laurie Lee Tremblay, 16-year-old Dana Sanchez, and 21-year-old Maria Del Carmen Estrada, over a period of time from 1986 to 1995, in Harris County, Texas. He was granted a temporary 90-day stay of execution and his execution has been rescheduled for January 18, 2018 (read more here). Anthony’s execution was stayed to allow time to investigate claims that another Texas death row inmate, Larry Swearingen, attempted to persuade Anthony to confess to the crime for which Larry has been sentenced to death. Larry is scheduled to be executed next month for the murder of Melissa Trotter (read more here).

Raymond Tibbetts was also scheduled to be executed on October 18, 2017. Raymond’s execution has been rescheduled at the request of the Ohio Governor John Kasich. Raymond is convicted of murdering his wife, Judith Sue Crawford, and 67-year-old Fred Hicks on November 6, 1997, inside of Fred’s Cincinnati home, where they all lived. Read more about Raymond and his case here.

On Thursday, October 19, 2017, Torrey McNabb was scheduled to be executed by the state of Alabama. He was pronounced dead at 9:38 pm CDT. Torrey’s execution was delayed several hours due to appeals. Torrey is convicted of the murder of Police Officer Anderson Gordon on September 24, 1997, in Montgomery, Alabama. Read more about Torrey and his case here.

Scott Raymond Dozier was scheduled to be executed in Nevada this week, however, his execution has been rescheduled for Tuesday, November 14, 2017. Scott is convicted murdering 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller on April 18, 2002, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Scott’s execution has been rescheduled due to a request to make public the drugs that will be used in the execution. Read more about Scott here.

Hector Medina, currently a death row inmate in Texas, has been granted a new sentencing trial. During his original trial, his lawyer refused to present evidence to persuade the jury to sentence Hector to life in prison instead of death. Hector is convicted of killing his three-year-old son and his eight-month-old daughter in March 2007. Hector’s original lawyer has stated that she failed to present a defense due to numerous delays, which prevented her witnesses from appearing. Additionally, Hector, originally from El Salvador, is in the country illegally, and many of his family members were prevented from attending his trial.

Prosecutors in Fairfax County, Virginia have announced that they will seek the death penalty against 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres for the rape and murder of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen, a Muslim girl. A week before Nabra’s murder, another women reported to authorities that Darwin had sexually assaulted her.

James Bradley, the man who transported dozens of illegal aliens in a semi-truck has pled guilty to conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and transporting aliens resulting in death. Earlier this summer, James was arrested by police in Texas after it was discovered that there were dozens of illegal aliens inside his tractor trailer, which had no cooling unit and only one vent. Ten of the illegal aliens died. If James had gone to trial, he could have faced the death penalty. He now faces up to life in prison and will be sentenced in January.

Drug dealers in Florida can now face the death penalty if they sell to someone who uses the drugs to overdose. When Governor Rick Scott signed the bill, he indicated that he hoped this bill would help combat the growing opioid crisis in the state. This bill focuses only on adults who sell fentanyl, or other drugs laced with fentanyl. Those who sell the drug can face a charge of manslaughter if the purchaser overdoses. A similar already exists for cocaine, opium, and methadone.

Zimbabwe: As Zimbabwe attempts to start carrying out executions, applications have been pouring in for the position of hangman. So far, over 50 applications have been received. The nation has not carried out an execution since 2005. The vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa has spoken out against the death penalty, as he narrowly escaped being executed in his youth. There are 92 individuals on death row.